Cassandra James

So tired of reading 'writers' on AC and Examiner who haven't been to the places they're writing about

I do a fair bit of reading on Associated Content and Examiner, as I write for both websites. Both websites are unfortunately where anyone can write anything they want. Sounds like a good thing right? Wrong.

As a professional travel writer, who has actually BEEN to all the places I write about, I find it annoying that AC and Examiner allow writers to write 'travel pieces' about places they've never been to. These 'writers' simply find a couple of articles about a place, rewrite it in their own words, don't have their own photos because they've never BEEN there and then publish it. Should be stopped, IMO.

I've always been annoyed but just got off reading an AC article by a 'travel writer' who, I could tell from her 20-plus published pieces, hasn't been to any of the places she's writing about. In her article, she spouted off about why Rio de Janeiro isn't appropriate for the Olympic Games because it's 'dangerous and gang-infested'. With vocabulary like that, she's obviously watching too much American TV :-)

So, come on Associated Content and Examiner, stop allowing anyone to just shove up regurgitated crap about places they've never traveled to. It's lying and it's also bringing down the reputation of the websites. I mean, who's going to take any article seriously that's published on a website where anyone can decide they're a 'writer' and throw up articles on subjects they know nothing about.

Live, Love, Laugh

 

Kongpat Sakdapitak

A couple of weeks ago, I was at my local Kinokuniya bookstore in Bangkok looking for a new Thai book, "Live, Love, Laugh". It's a hardback book about Thai artists in Bangkok and the houses they live in. I don't read much Thai, but the photos are gorgeous, and I wanted to see how other artists in Bangkok live, being an artist myself.

I found the book and headed to the checkout. While standing in line, a Thai guy standing in front of me looked at the book in my hand and said to me, "My house is in that book". Turns out he's one of the artist in the book - Kongpat Sakdapitak -and has one of the coolest houses in the book. See for yourself! Incredibly nice guy too.

Wow! I'm Featured on Associated Content

Woohoo - I just had an article featured on Associated Content's Halloween section. It's a fun article on where to celebrate Halloween in Bangkok.  Recommended reading if you're going to be in the City of Angels :-)

Read my full article here.

Airline Reviews

I fly a fair amount and have written some personal reviews on some of the airlines I've flow on recently. Overall, I've been pretty happy with almost all of the airlines. Read on to find out which airline I hated :-)

Review: China Airlines 

Review: EVA Airlines

Review: Air Asia

Review: Etihad Air

Live on Examiner

I'm up and running on Examiner, and with just a few minor blips, I already have four articles up there.  

I'm loving the way Examiner looks. It's so colorful and each page looks incredibly professional. It makes Associated Content look really outdated and old-fashioned.

Check out my first four articles on Examiner:

Awesome places in Malaysia

Thai stock market falls

Afternoon tea places in BKK 

Suvarnabhumi Airport

Lunch at Dream Cones

I've discovered a new favorite ice cream shop in Bangkok.  Called Dream Cones, it's a chain ice cream shop that sells homemade-style low-fat, sugar-free and soy ice cream. With more than 80 flavors on a revolving basis, some incredibly decadent and delicious cakes and even a few entrees like lasagna and pork spare ribs on rice, it's a fab place for a good lunch.

Located at Bon Marche market on Prachaniwet 1 in north Bangkok, it's right slap bang on the man made lake, so has a pretty view too. For my review on Dream Cones and more information, read here.

Lunch at Bon Marche

The dessert stall where I bought sticky rice and coconut pancakes and an amazing Thai pumpkin custard dessert

One of the aisles at Bon Marche

The Vietnamese restaurant - excellent Vietnamese food

The Everything Dried Fish stall .......

The Bon Marche food court - a plate of incredible Thai food around $1

I had lunch with a friend at Bon Marche today.  Bon Marche is a fabulous upscale market in northern Bangkok, near Wat Samee-en Aree. Owned by a member of the Royal Family, there's a huge food court with amazing Thai food, a good produce and snack market, lots of little gift shops, a fabulous ice cream shop, a coffee shop overlooking the lake, and Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese restaurants etc.  

As usual, I came home with bags of delicious food bought from tiny market stalls. Oh and hot apple pies!!!!  Supposed to be on a diet but, ......oh well :-)

Examiner.com

In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to start writing for Examiner.com. I'm very excited.

I've been writing for Associated Content for just over two years and have almost 1,000 articles published there now. It will be interesting to start with another similar online company. I'm also very impressed with Examiner, as their website looks beautiful. Very professional and up to the minute.  This should be fun!

Still writing for AC

I'm still writing like crazy for AC and have been recently doing more celebrity news articles. My latest two are about John Travolta's extortion trial (well, not his trial, the trial of the people accused of trying to extort $25 million from Travolta) and a second article about Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland.

John Travolta Court Case Begins, and Roman Polanski in the Pokey.

Wat Phra Kaew Again!

I really love Wat Phra Kaew, next to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, and just had to put this pretty photo up too.

Just look at this perfect photo - gorgeous green grass and piercing blue sky, with the most perfectly designed building in the center.  Just beautiful.

Wat Phra Kaew

I went to Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok with a bunch of friends from work and then onto Amphawa Floating Market. Love this photo, taken by my friend Pah's husband - we were all so happy :-)

Gotta Love Thai Girls :-)

I just got back from a 3-day trip to Khao Yai National Park with my office.  There were over 2,000 employees went on the trip and all paid for by my company. Amazing, huh?

It's funny being on vacation with a bunch of Thais though.  You've never seen as many cameras and Thai girls go into immediate pose mode when confronted with one. So funny (and very cute!)

Beautiful Coffee Shop, Chiang Mai

I absolutely loved NInety Four Coffee when I was in Chiang Mai last month. It was a perfect place to sit for hours and write, and I'm even thinking of going back to Chiang Mai for a couple of weeks at the end of the year, simply to write.

More articles on AC

I've been writing even more articles on AC this month.   The latest batch are here:

Songkran - What to Do To Enjoy It

Greyhound Cafe in Bangkok

Charities to Give Dollars To

Getting Jewelry in BKK

Good Places to Eat on Khao San Rd

Best Cheap Laptops to Buy

How to Brew Thai iced tea

Get More Zinc

Stuff To Eat to Help With Stress

Obama and Wife in London

Bangkok Markets

Boutique Hotels in BKK

Writing for Associated Content

Chiang Mai's Night Market

I've been writing for Associated Content for just over a year now.  It's an pretty good gig as you can write on anything you want and, so far, AC has bought everything I've written.

These are some of my latest articles:

How To Survive Chiang Mai's Night Market

Best Things To Buy in Chiang Mai

Ninety Four Coffee Chiang Mai

Riverside Restaurant Review

Sunday Walking Street Market

The Empire Hotel, Chiang Mai

Fun Things To Study in Thailand

Black Canyon Coffee

   
 

Newest Sales

       

I was very happy to log onto my Etsy shop last week and see that I had sold three paintings, all to the same customer in Hawaii.   Must say I get a really big rush when one of my paintings sell, so three is very cool.

Excellent Japanese Food

Two of my students that went for lunch

There's a fabulous Japanese restaurant behind my office, hidden away behind a huge wooden fence. Inside, there is a lovely Japanese garden and the Japanese restaurant is inside what used to be a Thai house. The interior of the restaurant is gorgeous - all dark wood and very traditional Japanese looking.

Anyway, I ran a competition at work and the top class (in a 7 week competition) won lunch at the Japanese restaurant.  So, today, I took the three women who won for Japanese food.  And it was really yummy!

New Bangkok Shrub Sculptures

In the last few months, I've seen a distinct effort to beautify Bangkok by the Bangkok authorities.  On my way home every night, I now notice the elephant shrub sculptures that are at the intersection of the road where my office sits and Sukhumvit.

Very pretty and they do brighten the city up.  So keep 'em coming Bangkok government.  We like them :-)

Dinner

I went to Carrefour and bought a lot of healthy food again. I've been trying to get rid of most of the junk in my diet and eat only good food, even if it is a bit more expensive.

This was dinner tonight - Feta cheese mixed with virgin olive oil, some green olives and a chopped up clove of garlic. I ate it on whole wheat crackers and with a small bunch of purple grapes. Drink was a small carton of purple carrot juice. Absolutely delicious.

The Beggar

Walking home from work every day lately, I've been seeing an elephant. Nope, I'm not drinking too much booze - it's really there.

Mahouts (elephant owners) bring their elephants into Bangkok to sell bananas to tourists and to beg for money. Since the teak industry collapsed in Thailand, a lot of elephants owners have not been able to make money. It's illegal to bring them into Bangkok, as they often get injured, poisoned by the foul air, or hit by a car or bus. But the mahouts still bring them because they need the money.

This one has been wandering up the street towards my office every night and, last night, I saw it on the main street near the skytrain on its way to my street.

You've got to feel sorry for the poor thing. Bangkok is hot, it's loud, it's dirty and there's traffic everywhere. And this poor animal has to march up roasting sidewalks and in the middle of the street, just so its owner can make a few hundred baht a day.

Pillows

Oh my God, I want one of these.............pillows that you tie onto your head. Cool, huh? And found here.

Thai Kids' Art Exhibit

There was a really cool art exhibit by Thai kids in support of the Thai Liver Foundation at Siam Paragon Mall yesterday (Siam Paragon always has interesting art and photography exhibits!).

I always love looking at Thai kids' art as they use incredibly bright colors and, because Thailand has a strong culture in art, a lot of Thai kids are very talented. I just loved these paintings! Done by kids 12-17 years old.

The Bangkok Art Centre

Tua outside Siam Paragon mall - she always looks so darn perfect and cute :-)

This was a walkway from one floor to the other of the art centre made entirely of plastic bowls. Very cool.

My friend, Tua, and I went to the new art centre near Siam Square today. A huge improvement from a few weeks ago when they had NO art, just an empty building. They now have art on 3 floors, most by Thai artists, and there is some really interesting stuff. Would have loved to take photos but they didn't allow cameras, which I've noticed is happening a lot in Thailand - I don't know why? Art centers I've been to in Malaysia and Hong Kong allow you to take photos.

One thing I didn't like though was the art centre has a guard search your bag when you go in, but then, when you go up to the third floor to see the exhibits, they make you leave your bag at a check-in counter and you have to walk around carrying camera, wallet, cell phone etc. I refused to leave my bag (it's already been searched, why should I?) and I heard one other Western couple who were leaving the art centre without looking at the art as they were not willing to leave their bags either. I ended up just walking around with my bag and nobody tried to stop me (usually in Thailand, they don't try to stop Westerners as Thais don't usually speak English and it's too difficult for them).

Other than that though, the exhibits were nice and the building is beautiful. We also had lunch at a noodle restaurant at MBK, went to Kinokuniya bookshop where I bought 4 books, had coffee at Starbucks, then dinner at the Japanese retaurant, Ootoya. Delicious!

Lunch with the Juniors

I went for lunch today with all the juniors from one of the departments I teach. They're really nice girls and all speak excellent English (most went to international programs at Chulalongkorn and Thammasat Universities (best unis in Thailand).

We just went to a restaurant in the same building as my office - food was good, service was poor (which is pretty usual at this particular restaurant).

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

You see these stray dogs all over Bangkok. These two are passed out in the middle of the afternoon heat, outside a FamilyMart behind my office building. I see them every day and somebody obviously feeds them because they're actually quite healthy looking.

New Series

I'm working on a new series of mini paintings (4 x 6 inches). Using reds and greens primarily, I'm painting figures that remind me of Thai girls, who can sometimes be a bit whiny :-)

Available in my Etsy shop.

Penguin

A new piece in my Etsy shop and more to come soon.

The Rabbit House

I bought myself a new toy yesterday - an Epson scanner and printer. It goes fabulously with the new Acer computer with 19" flat screen that I bought two weeks ago (I'm such a techno geek!)

I've spent all day playing with the scanner and it's so much fun. The rabbits love it too, because they got to play in the box it came in. New rabbit house!!

New Piece

I finished another new piece today and was very happy with this one. Norman (the star of "Can I Come In?") is back and, this time, he's visiting the temple. Original painting available in my Etsy shop and prints will be up soon.

Emma Kidd (Benconservato)

I just bought this wonderful handcolored ACEO by Emma Kidd (benconservato on Etsy). She's an Australian woman living in Lille, France who also has a great blog here.

Can't wait to get the ACEO and get it framed. It's perfect for a little spot next to my desk.

Sold 3 Paintings On Dawanda

I'm so happy. I checked my Dawanda shop tonight to find that a man in the UK had just purchased three of my paintings (not prints, paintings!). He paid immediately and sent me the nicest note about my artwork.

So, on Saturday, these paintings will be packed up and shipped off to England and the money I made from them will be going towards the purchase of a new printer/scanner so I can print more prints to sell on Etsy and Dawanda.

Yay for Dawanda!

Lehman Bros and a Crashing Stock Market

Not a great day for the financial markets as Lehman Brothers announced they were declaring bankruptcy. This also affects Lehman Bros' employees all over the world, even in countries like Thailand. But.....if you have money, now is the time to be investing in the stock market not selling. What comes down must go up and those who invest while it's lower win out long-term.

Weird Rabbit

This cracks me up. My brown rabbit is always escaping from the pen but, instead of running around enjoying its' freedom, it then goes and lies outside the pen right next to the rabbits inside the pen.

Mightn't it just as well be inside? Or am I missing something about rabbit logic? :-)

New Work

I've been taking a long break from painting as I've been so busy with work and with writing articles for Associated Content. But, this weekend, other than grocery shopping at Carrefour I'm not going anywhere and want to spend part of the weekend painting.

This is one I finished today. Just a simple watercolor that I put in a frame and have already listed for sale on Etsy. I love painting these little guys. They're simple to do but look so pretty when they're in a frame. Great for a child's room too.

Samak asked to resign by constitutional court

Samak cooking at a cooking show in Bangkok this year (photo, Reuters)

As a foreigner who has lived in Thailand for more than five years, I would be very wary of investing in Thailand right now.

A Thai court has kicked the Prime Minister out of office because he was paid as a cooking show host (supposedly a conflict of interest). Basically, they couldn't get him out any other way because he was a legally elected Prime Minister, so they chose to get him out the backdoor way. Declaring he was ineligible to be Prime Minister because he was a host of a local cooking show.

So, we now have a legal limbo with the elected Prime Minister kicked out, no idea of who will be Prime Minister, the PAD still pushing their basically now-Communist ideas, and a military in the wings that could hold another coup any time. Oh, and to top it all off, Samak's party has already said they will renominate him as Prime Minister after he's resigned and, yes, this is legal in Thailand. What a f*cked up system, eh?

Even the BBC on reporting this news just said "Bizarre". Do Thais have any idea how stupid they look and how unstable and ridiculous a country Thailand looks for foreign investors?

But you've got to laugh - it's funny. How a country's political system could be this ridiculous, you just have to laugh. If it wasn't so sad, that is.

New Art Centre, Bangkok

Tua at the empty art museum

Bangkok has a brand new art centre that has just opened. It's opposite Mahboonkrong (MBK) mall, near Siam sky train station. The building is absolutely beautiful - 11 floors, wide-open spaces, beautiful design - but the weird thing was, even though it's open it was completely EMPTY. NO artwork at all, NO art exhibits, NONE of the shops or restaurants open, NOTHING.

It's so typically Thailand. They had a great idea but they didn't actually think it through or plan it correctly - you'd think they would have had some artists and some artwork organized before they opened. Right? :-)